The present invention relates to packaging material of photothermographic image recording sheets and a presence/absence detecting method for residual photothermographic image recording sheet, and in particular, to the photothermographic image recording sheet package used for preventing the generation of a scratch caused during the transportation and the generation of a chemical or physical change caused during the preservation, and the presence/absence detecting method of the residual photothermographic image recording sheet.
The photothermographic image recording sheets is shipped in a packaging style, as shown in FIG. 5, being packaged in moisture-proof bag 100 for an outer package in which they are contained to be a bundled condition, being held between strong protecting plates (hereinafter referred to as a bottom plate), which are formed by pulp base paper.
When the photothermographic image recording sheets are used, the photothermographic image recording sheets are taken out of the moisture-proof bag for the outer package, and the photothermographic image recording sheets contained by the packaging material including the bottom plate are set on a photothermographic apparatus. Each sheet of the set photothermographic image recording sheets is picked up by a mechanism using a vacuum head to be supplied to the apparatus. When the last photothermographic image recording sheet stacked on the lowermost position has been picked up, the vacuum head comes directly in contact with the upper surface of the bottom plate, and thereby, the sucking mechanism still remains working. Due to this, it is difficult to distinguish whether the photothermographic image recording sheet exists or not, which causes the malfunction of the apparatus.
In order to prevent the above-mentioned malfunction, there is used a structure wherein the concave section or the notched section (including a through hole) are provided on the bottom plate where the vacuum head acts, and the absence of the photothermographic image recording sheet is judged by detecting that the sucking mechanism does not work (Refer to JITSUKAISYOU 55-164642, JITSUKAISYOU 57-2522, JITSUKAISYOU 61-20591, JITSUKAIHEI 6-82975, JITSUKOUSYOU 61-4915, TOKUKOUSYOU 63-184752, PATENT 2679993 and TOKUKAI 2001-109112).
On the other hand, in the photothermographic image recording sheet which is different from the conventional general photographic photosensitive material, there is structure wherein the reducing agent and organic silver co-exist in a photosensitive layer of a film, and the reducing agent moves, when heated, to the side of the organic silver to give an electron for exposing, further, there is included an organic solvent which serves as a role of a medium when the reducing agent moves, however, when there is the concave section or the notched section (or the through hole) on the portion of the bottom plate, the organic solvent on the section where the enveloped photothermographic image recording sheet touches the concave section or the notched section evaporates, and the reducing agent hardly migrates on the section where the organic solvent evaporated, which causes the generation of trouble that the above-mentioned section is changed to be white without being exposed.
As cleared by the above description, in a structure of judging the presence/absence of the photothermographic image recording sheet by detecting sucking or non-sucking of the photothermographic image recording sheet by the vacuum head that picks up the photothermographic image recording sheet, the first subject of the present invention is to clear the packaging material of the photothermographic image recording sheet and presence/absence detecting method of the residual photothermographic image recording sheet, which are improved so that the concave section or the notched section provided on the bottom plate of the bottom section does not exercise a bad influence, caused by the exhalation of the organic solvent, on the photothermographic image recording sheet stacked at the lowermost position.
The second subject of the present invention is to clear the packaging material of the photothermographic image recording sheet and the presence/absence detecting method of the residual photothermographic image recording sheet which are improved so that the concave section or the notched section provided on the bottom plate does not exert a bad influence based on a clearing of the organic solvent to the photothermographic image recording sheet stacked on the lowermost position.
The present invention is structured as follows.
Structure 1. In the packaging material for the photothermographic image recording sheet in which the photothermographic image recording sheet, including at least one kind of non-photosensitive organic silver halide, a reducing agent for a silver ion and a binder on a support, is housed so that a surface including at least the non-photosensitive organic silver halide is brought into contact with a bottom section of the packaging material, the packaging material for the photothermographic image recording sheet is characterized in that, there is provided a detecting means of the photothermographic image recording sheet, wherein there is provided a concave section or a notched section on a section where a part of a vacuum head comes into contact with a bottom plate located on a bottom section of the packaging material, and wherein there is arranged a filler formed with a soft material having air permeability and neither absorbs nor transmits an organic solvent, on the concave section or the notched section.
Structure 2. In the packaging material for the photothermographic image recording sheet in which the photothermographic image recording sheet, including at least one kind of the non-photosensitive organic silver halide, a reducing agent for a silver ion and a binder on a support, is housed so that a surface including at least the non-photosensitive organic silver halide is brought into contact with a bottom section of the packaging material, a presence/absence detecting method for the residual photothermographic image recording sheets housed in the packaging material is characterized in that, the absence of the photothermographic image recording sheet is detected by air suction to a filler, wherein there is provided a concave section or a notched section on a section where a part of a vacuum head touches a bottom plate located on the bottom section of the packaging material, and wherein there is arranged the filler formed with a soft material having air permeability and neither absorbs nor transmits an organic solvent, in the concave section or the notched section.
Structure 3. In the packaging material for the photothermographic image recording sheet in which the photothermographic image recording sheet, including at least one kind of non-photosensitive organic silver halide, a reducing agent for a silver ion and a binder on a support, is housed so that a surface including at least the non-photosensitive organic silver halide is brought into contact with a bottom section of the packaging material, the packaging material for the photothermographic image recording sheet is characterized in that there is provided a detecting means of the photothermographic image recording sheet, wherein there is provided a concave section or a notched section on a section where a part of a vacuum head touches a bottom plate located in a bottom section of the packaging material, and wherein there is arranged a filler, formed with a soft material having air permeability and neither absorbs nor transmits an organic solvent, and which a film zero-detection pin penetrates, on the concave section or the notched section.
Structure 4. In the packaging material for the photothermographic image recording sheet in which the photothermographic image recording sheet, including at least one kind of non-photosensitive organic silver halide, a reducing agent for a silver ion and a binder on a support, is housed so that a surface including at least the non-photosensitive organic silver halide is brought into contact with a bottom section of the packaging material, a presence/absence detecting method for the residual photothermographic image recording sheet housed in the packaging material is characterized in that, the absence of the photothermographic image recording sheet is detected by the penetration of zero-detecting pin into a filler, wherein there is provided a concave section or a notched section on a section where a part of a vacuum head comes into contact with a bottom plate located on the bottom section of the packaging material, and wherein there is arranged the filler formed with a soft material having air permeability and neither absorbs nor transmits an organic solvent, in the concave section or the notched section.
Structure 5. In the packaging material for photothermographic image recording sheet in which the photothermographic image recording sheet, including at least one kind of non-photosensitive organic silver halide, a reducing agent for a silver ion and a binder on a support, is housed so that a surface including at least the non-photosensitive organic silver halide is brought into contact with a bottom section of the packaging material, the packaging material for the photothermographic image recording sheet is characterized in that, there is provided a detecting means for the photothermographic image recording sheet, wherein there is provided a concave section or a notched section where a part of a vacuum head comes into contact with a bottom plate on a bottom section of the packaging material, and wherein there is provided the filler formed with the soft material that neither absorbs nor transmits an organic solvent, on the concave section or the notched section, and which is deformed by pressure of film zero-detection pin.
Structure 6. In the packaging material for photothermographic image recording sheet in which the photothermographic image recording sheet, including at least one kind of non-photosensitive organic silver halide, a reducing agent for a silver ion and a binder on a support, is housed so that a surface including at least the non-photosensitive organic silver halide is brought into contact with a bottom section of the packaging material, a presence/absence detecting method of the residual photothermographic image recording sheet housed in the packaging material is characterized in that, an absence of the photothermographic image recording sheet is detected by the penetration of the zero-detecting pin into the filler, wherein there is provided a concave section or a notched section on a section where a part of a vacuum head of the bottom plate located on a bottom section of the packaging material, and wherein there is provided the filler formed with soft material that neither absorbs nor transmits an organic solvent, on the concave section or the notched section, and which is deformed by the pressure of a film zero-detecting pin.
Structure 7. The packaging material for the photothermographic image recording sheet described in the Structure 1, 3 or 5, wherein at least the bottom plate is formed with a thermoplastic resin sheet.